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Sunday, November 30, 2014

Vatican City, 30 November 2014 (VIS) –
Early yesterday afternoon, Pope Francis visited the Latin Cathedral
of the Holy Spirit, opened for worship in 1846. In the courtyard
there is a statue of Pope Benedict XV, erected by the Turks in 1919
during the Pope's lifetime, to thank him for his efforts in favour of
the Turkish victims of the First World War. It bears the inscription:
“To the great Pope of the world's tragic hour, Benedict XV,
benefactor of the people, without discrimination of nationality or
religion, a token of gratitude from the Orient”. During his papacy,
Armenian Christians were massacred in the Ottoman Empire, and
Benedict XV used every means available to him – words, humanitarian
aid and diplomatic activity – to bring an end to the slaughter.

“In the Gospel”, explained Pope
Francis, “Jesus shows himself to be the font from which those who
thirst for salvation draw upon, as the Rock from whom the Father
brings forth living waters for all who believe in him. In openly
proclaiming this prophecy in Jerusalem, Jesus heralds the gift of the
Holy Spirit whom the disciples will receive after his glorification,
that is, after his death and resurrection. The Holy Spirit is the
soul of the Church. He gives life, he brings forth different charisms
which enrich the people of God and, above all, he creates unity among
believers: from the many he makes one body, the Body of Christ. The
Church’s whole life and mission depend on the Holy Spirit; he
fulfils all things”.

The profession of faith itself, as
Saint Paul reminds us in today’s first reading, “is only possible
because it is prompted by the Holy Spirit: 'No one can say “Jesus
is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit'. When we pray, it is because
the Holy Spirit inspires prayer in our heart. When we break the cycle
of our self-centredness, and move beyond ourselves and go out to
encounter others, to listen to them and help them, it is the Spirit
of God who impels us to do so. When we find within a hitherto unknown
ability to forgive, to love someone who doesn’t love us in return,
it is the Spirit who has taken hold of us. When we move beyond mere
self-serving words and turn to our brothers and sisters with that
tenderness which warms the heart, we have indeed been touched by the
Holy Spirit”.

“It is true”, observed the Pontiff,
“that the Holy Spirit brings forth different charisms in the
Church, which at first glance, may seem to create disorder. Under His
guidance, however, they constitute an immense richness, because the
Holy Spirit is the Spirit of unity, which is not the same thing as
uniformity. Only the Holy Spirit is able to kindle diversity,
multiplicity and, at the same time, bring about unity. When we try to
create diversity, but are closed within our own particular and
exclusive ways of seeing things, we create division. When we try to
create unity through our own human designs, we end up with uniformity
and homogenisation. If we let ourselves be led by the Spirit,
however, richness, variety and diversity will never create conflict,
because the Spirit spurs us to experience variety in the communion of
the Church.

“The diversity of members and
charisms is harmonised in the Spirit of Christ, Whom the Father sent
and whom He continues to send, in order to achieve unity among
believers. The Holy Spirit brings unity to the Church: unity in
faith, unity in love, unity in interior life. The Church and other
Churches and ecclesial communities are called to let themselves be
guided by the Holy Spirit, and to remain always open, docile and
obedient”.

He continued, “Ours is a hopeful
perspective, but one which is also demanding. The temptation is
always within us to resist the Holy Spirit, because He takes us out
of our comfort zone and unsettles us; He makes us get up and drives
the Church forward. It is always easier and more comfortable to
settle in our sedentary and unchanging ways. In truth, the Church
shows her fidelity to the Holy Spirit in as much as she does not try
to control or tame Him. We Christians become true missionary
disciples, able to challenge consciences, when we throw off our
defensiveness and allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit. He is
freshness, imagination and newness”.

Our defensiveness is evident “when we
are entrenched within our ideas and our own strengths – in which
case we slip into Pelagianism – or when we are ambitious or vain.
These defensive mechanisms prevent us from truly understanding other
people and from opening ourselves to a sincere dialogue with them.
But the Church, flowing from Pentecost, is given the fire of the Holy
Spirit, which does not so much fill the mind with ideas, but inflames
the heart; she is moved by the breath of the Spirit which does not
transmit a power, but rather an ability to serve in love, a language
which everyone is able to understand. In our journey of faith and
fraternal living, the more we allow ourselves to be humbly guided by
the Spirit of the Lord, the more we will overcome misunderstandings,
divisions, and disagreements and be a credible sign of unity and
peace”.

The Pope extended his embrace “with
this joyful conviction” to all those present at the Mass, and
expressed his gratitude to the representatives of the Protestant
communities, who joined in prayer with the Catholic faithful for this
celebration. He also greeted the Armenian Patriarch, His Beatitude
Mesrob II, who was unable to attend.

“Brothers and sisters”, he
concluded, “let us turn our thoughts to the Virgin Mary, Mother of
God. With her, she who prayed with the Apostles in the Upper Room as
they awaited Pentecost, let us pray to the Lord asking him to send
his Holy Spirit into our hearts and to make us witnesses of his
Gospel in all the world”.

Vatican City, 30 November 2014 (VIS) –
After celebrating Holy Mass in the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit,
Francis transferred at midday to the seat of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate in Phanar, the world centre of Orthodoxy.

The Orthodox Church has 300 million
faithful, present especially in Eastern and Northern Europe, along
the north-east coast of the Mediterranean and in the Middle East. It
consists of various patriarchal Churches who maintain their autonomy
while remaining linked to each other in a spirit of faith. The
Ecumenical Patriarchate is the “primus inter pares” with respect
to the other Orthodox patriarchates, and co-ordinates their
activities. Its ecclesiastical jurisdiction includes not only
Istanbul, but extends also to four other Turkish dioceses, Mount
Athos, Crete, Patmos and the Islands of the Dodecanese and, following
emigration, dioceses in Central and Western Europe, the Americas,
Pakistan and Japan. Finally, it is the point of reference for
Orthodox faithful throughout the world in territories not under the
direct jurisdiction of the other Orthodox patriarchates. For
centuries, the seat of the Patriarchate was next to the Cathedral of
Hagia Sophia. Following the fall of Constantinople in 1453, it was
transferred from 1601 to the quarter of Phanar. The Ecumenical
Patriarch is His Holiness Bartholomaios I, whose commitment to
inter-orthodox cooperation and ecumenical dialogue is well-known, as
well as his interest in the protection of the environment, earning
him the moniker “the green Patriarch”.

The Pope was received by the Patriarch
in the Church of St. George, where an ecumenical liturgy took place
in which both prayed for the unity of God's holy Churches. After
Bartholomaios' discourse, Pope Francis addressed those present.

“Each evening brings a mixed feeling
of gratitude for the day which is ending and of yearning trust before
the oncoming night. This evening my heart is full of gratitude to God
who allows me to be here in prayer with Your Holiness and with this
sister Church after an eventful day during my Apostolic Visit. At the
same time my heart awaits the day which we have already begun
liturgically: the Feast of the Apostle Saint Andrew, Patron of this
Church. In the words of the prophet Zachariah, the Lord gives us anew
in this evening prayer, the foundation that sustains our moving
forward from one day to the next, the solid rock upon which we
advance together in joy and hope. The foundation rock is the Lord’s
promise: 'Behold, I will save my people from the countries of the
east and from the countries of the west… in faithfulness and in
righteousness'.

“Yes, my venerable and dear Brother
Bartholomaios, as I express my heartfelt 'thank you' for your
fraternal welcome, I sense that our joy is greater because its source
is from beyond; it is not in us, not in our commitment, not in our
efforts – that are certainly necessary – but in our shared trust
in God’s faithfulness which lays the foundation for the
reconstruction of his temple that is the Church. 'For there shall be
a sowing of peace'; truly, a sowing of joy. It is the joy and the
peace that the world cannot give, but which the Lord Jesus promised
to his disciples and, as the Risen One, bestowed upon them in the
power of the Holy Spirit”.

He continued, “Andrew and Peter heard
this promise; they received this gift. They were blood brothers, yet
their encounter with Christ transformed them into brothers in faith
and charity. In this joyful evening, at this prayer vigil, I want to
emphasise this; they became brothers in hope. What a grace, Your
Holiness, to be brothers in the hope of the Risen Lord! What a grace,
and what a responsibility, to walk together in this hope, sustained
by the intercession of the holy Apostles and brothers, Andrew and
Peter! And to know that this shared hope does non deceive us because
it is founded, not upon us or our poor efforts, but rather upon God’s
faithfulness”.

“With this joyful hope, filled with
gratitude and eager expectation, I extend to Your Holiness and to all
present, and to the Church of Constantinople, my warm and fraternal
best wishes on the Feast of your holy Patron”.

Francis and Bartholomaios then recited
the Lord's Prayer together in Latin and imparted their blessing, the
Pope in Latin and the Patriarch in Greek, after which they retired to
the second floor for a private meeting.

Vatican City, 30 November 2014 (VIS) –
Pope Francis' final day in Turkey began with a meeting, early in the
morning at the Pontifical Representation in Istanbul, of the Chief
Rabbi of Turkey, Ishak Haleva. The Jewish community in Turkey,
consisting of around 25 thousand people, is numerically the second
largest in an Islamic country, following that of Iran. The most
substantial Jewish settlement in Turkey dates from the period of the
Spanish Inquisition (1492). At the beginning of the nineteenth
century there were around 100 thousand, but this figure dropped
drastically as a result of emigration to America and Israel. Pope
Benedict XVI also met with the Chief Rabbi during his trip to Turkey
in 2006.

Following the celebration and after
listening to the Patriarch's words, the Pope addressed those present,
recalling how as Archbishop of Buenos Aires he had frequently
participated in the Divine Liturgy of the city's Orthodox
communities, but “today, the Lord has given me the singular grace
to be present in this Patriarchal Church of Saint George for the
celebration of the Feast of the holy Apostle Andrew, the
first-called, the brother of Saint Peter, and the Patron Saint of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate”.

He continued, “Meeting each other,
seeing each other face to face, exchanging the embrace of peace, and
praying for each other, are all essential aspects of our journey
towards the restoration of full communion. All of this precedes and
always accompanies that other essential aspect of this journey,
namely, theological dialogue. An authentic dialogue is, in every
case, an encounter between persons with a name, a face, a past, and
not merely a meeting of ideas.

“This is especially true for us
Christians, because for us the truth is the person of Jesus Christ”,
observed the Pontiff. “The example of Saint Andrew, who with
another disciple accepted the invitation of the Divine Master, 'Come
and see', and 'stayed with him that day', shows us plainly that the
Christian life is a personal experience, a transforming encounter
with the One who loves us and who wants to save us. In addition, the
Christian message is spread thanks to men and women who are in love
with Christ, and cannot help but pass on the joy of being loved and
saved. Here again, the example of the apostle Andrew is instructive.
After following Jesus to his home and spending time with Him, Andrew
'first found his brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the
Messiah” (meaning Christ). He brought him to Jesus'. It is clear,
therefore, that not even dialogue among Christians can prescind from
this logic of personal encounter”.

Therefore, “it is not by chance that
the path of reconciliation and peace between Catholics and Orthodox
was, in some way, ushered in by an encounter, by an embrace between
our venerable predecessors, Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras and Pope
Paul VI, which took place fifty years ago in Jerusalem. Your Holiness
and I wished to commemorate that moment when we met recently in the
same city where our Lord Jesus Christ died and rose.

“By happy coincidence, my visit falls
a few days after the fiftieth anniversary of the promulgation of
Unitatis Redintegratio, the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on
Christian Unity. This is a fundamental document which opened new
avenues for encounter between Catholics and their brothers and
sisters of other Churches and ecclesial communities. In particular,
in that Decree the Catholic Church acknowledges that the Orthodox
Churches 'possess true sacraments, above all – by apostolic
succession – the priesthood and the Eucharist, whereby they are
still joined to us in closest intimacy'. The Decree goes on to state
that in order to guard faithfully the fullness of the Christian
tradition and to bring to fulfilment the reconciliation of Eastern
and Western Christians, it is of the greatest importance to preserve
and support the rich patrimony of the Eastern Churches. This regards
not only their liturgical and spiritual traditions, but also their
canonical disciplines, sanctioned as they are by the Fathers and by
Councils, which regulate the lives of these Churches”.

The Pope emphasised the importance of
reaffirming respect for this principle “as an essential condition,
accepted by both, for the restoration of full communion, which does
not signify the submission of one to the other, or assimilation.
Rather, it means welcoming all the gifts that God has given to each,
thus demonstrating to the entire world the great mystery of salvation
accomplished by Christ the Lord through the Holy Spirit. I want to
assure each one of you here that, to reach the desired goal of full
unity, the Catholic Church does not intend to impose any conditions
except that of the shared profession of faith. Further, I would add
that we are ready to seek together, in light of Scriptural teaching
and the experience of the first millennium, the ways in which we can
guarantee the needed unity of the Church in the present
circumstances. The one thing that the Catholic Church desires, and
that I seek as Bishop of Rome, 'the Church which presides in
charity', is communion with the Orthodox Churches. Such communion
will always be the fruit of that love which 'has been poured into our
hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us', a fraternal
love which expresses the spiritual and transcendent bond which unites
us as disciples of the Lord”.

In today’s world, “voices are being
raised which we cannot ignore and which implore our Churches to live
deeply our identity as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. The first
of these voices is that of the poor. In the world, there are too many
women and men who suffer from severe malnutrition, growing
unemployment, the rising numbers of unemployed youth, and from
increasing social exclusion. These can give rise to criminal activity
and even the recruitment of terrorists. We cannot remain indifferent
before the cries of our brothers and sisters. These ask of us not
only material assistance – needed in so many circumstances – but
above all,our help to defend their dignity as human persons, so that
they can find the spiritual energy to become once again protagonists
in their own lives. They ask us to fight, in the light of the Gospel,
the structural causes of poverty: inequality, the shortage of
dignified work and housing, and the denial of their rights as members
of society and as workers. As Christians we are called together to
eliminate that globalisation of indifference which today seems to
reign supreme, while building a new civilisation of love and
solidarity”.

A second plea, he said, “comes from
the victims of the conflicts in so many parts of our world. We hear
this resoundingly here, because some neighbouring countries are
scarred by an inhumane and brutal war. I think in a particular way of
the numerous victims of the grotesque and senseless attack which
recently killed and injured so many Muslims who were praying in a
Mosque in Kano, Nigeria. Taking away the peace of a people,
committing every act of violence – or consenting to such acts –
especially when directed against the weakest and defenceless, is a
profoundly grave sin against God, since it means showing contempt for
the image of God which is in man. The cry of the victims of conflict
urges us to move with haste along the path of reconciliation and
communion between Catholics and Orthodox. Indeed, how can we credibly
proclaim the Gospel of peace which comes from Christ, if there
continues to be rivalry and disagreement between us?”

A third cry is that of young people.
“Today, tragically, there are many young men and women who live
without hope, overcome by mistrust and resignation. Many of the
young, influenced by the prevailing culture, seek happiness solely in
possessing material things and in satisfying their fleeting emotions.
New generations will never be able to acquire true wisdom and keep
hope alive unless we are able to esteem and transmit the true
humanism which comes from the Gospel and from the Church’s age-old
experience. It is precisely the young who today implore us to make
progress towards full communion. I think for example of the many
Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant youth who come together at meetings
organised by the Taize community. They do this not because they
ignore the differences which still separate us, but because they are
able to see beyond them; they are able to embrace what is essential
and what already unites us.

Pope Francis concluded by addressing
Bartholomaios I: “We are already on the way, on the path towards
full communion and already we can experience eloquent signs of an
authentic, albeit incomplete union. This offers us reassurance and
encourages us to continue on this journey. We are certain that along
this journey we are helped by the intercession of the Apostle Andrew
and his brother Peter, held by tradition to be the founders of the
Churches of Constantinople and of Rome. We ask God for the great gift
of full unity, and the ability to accept it in our lives. Let us
never forget to pray for one another”.

Vatican City, 30 November 2014 (VIS) –
Following the Divine Liturgy, Pope Francis and Patriarch
Bartholomaios I appeared on the balcony of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate and blessed the faithful gathered in the street. Francis
imparted the blessing in Latin, and Bartholomaios I in Greek. They
subsequently ascended to the Throne Room where they signed and read
the following joint Declaration:

“We, Pope Francis and Ecumenical
Patriarch Bartholomew I,express our profound gratitude to God for the
gift of this new encounter enabling us,in the presence of the members
of the Holy Synod, the clergy and the faithful of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate, to celebrate together the feast of Saint Andrew, the
first–called and brother of the Apostle Peter. Our remembrance of
the Apostles, who proclaimed the good news of the Gospel to the world
through their preaching and their witness of martyrdom, strengthens
in us the aspiration to continue to walk together in order to
overcome, in love and in truth, the obstacles that divide us.

“On the occasion of our meeting in
Jerusalem last May, in which we remembered the historical embrace of
our venerable predecessors Pope Paul VI and the Ecumenical Patriarch
Athenagoras, we signed a joint declaration. Today on the happy
occasion of this further fraternal encounter, we wish to re–affirm
together our shared intentions and concerns.

“We express our sincere and firm
resolution, in obedience to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, to
intensify our efforts to promote the full unity of all Christians,
and above all between Catholics and Orthodox. As well, we intend to
support the theological dialogue promoted by the Joint International
Commission, instituted exactly thirty–five years ago by the
Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios and Pope John Paul II here at the
Phanar, and which is currently dealing with the most difficult
questions that have marked the history of our division and that
require careful and detailed study. To this end, we offer the
assurance of our fervent prayer as Pastors of the Church, asking our
faithful to join us in praying 'that all may be one, that the world
may believe'.

“We express our common concern for
the current situation in Iraq, Syria and the whole Middle East. We
are united in the desire for peace and stability and in the will to
promote the resolution of conflicts through dialogue and
reconciliation. While recognising the efforts already being made to
offer assistance to the region, at the same time, we call on all
those who bear responsibility for the destiny of peoples to deepen
their commitment to suffering communities, and to enable them,
including the Christian ones, to remain in their native land. We
cannot resign ourselves to a Middle East without Christians, who have
professed the name of Jesus there for two thousand years. Many of our
brothers and sisters are being persecuted and have been forced
violently from their homes. It even seems that the value of human
life has been lost, that the human person no longer matters and may
be sacrificed to other interests. And, tragically, all this is met by
the indifference of many. As Saint Paul reminds us, 'If one member
suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice
together'. This is the law of the Christian life, and in this sense
we can say that there is also an ecumenism of suffering. Just as the
blood of the martyrs was a seed of strength and fertility for the
Church, so too the sharing of daily sufferings can become an
effective instrument of unity. The terrible situation of Christians
and all those who are suffering in the Middle East calls not only for
our constant prayer, but also for an appropriate response on the part
of the international community.

“The grave challenges facing the
world in the present situation require the solidarity of all people
of good will, and so we also recognise the importance of promoting a
constructive dialogue with Islam based on mutual respect and
friendship. Inspired by common values and strengthened by genuine
fraternal sentiments, Muslims and Christians are called to work
together for the sake of justice, peace and respect for the dignity
and rights of every person, especially in those regions where they
once lived for centuries in peaceful coexistence and now tragically
suffer together the horrors of war. Moreover, as Christian leaders,
we call on all religious leaders to pursue and to strengthen
interreligious dialogue and to make every effort to build a culture
of peace and solidarity between persons and between peoples. We also
remember all the people who experience the sufferings of war. In
particular, we pray for peace in Ukraine, a country of ancient
Christian tradition, while we call upon all parties involved to
pursue the path of dialogue and of respect for international law in
order to bring an end to the conflict and allow all Ukrainians to
live in harmony.

“Our thoughts turn to all the
faithful of our Churches throughout the world, whom we greet,
entrusting them to Christ our Saviour, that they may be untiring
witnesses to the love of God. We raise our fervent prayer that the
Lord may grant the gift of peace in love and unity to the entire
human family.

“'May the Lord of peace himself give
you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of
you'”.

After the signing of the Declaration,
the Pope, the Ecumenical Patriarch and various members of the
respective delegations lunched together on the third floor of the
Phanar.